Public participation

Public participation is a precondition for a transparent and successful search for a repository site for high-level radioactive waste. The affected region will only tolerate the site that has been identified if the procedure is transparent, all the objections have been heard and the decision is comprehensible.

Ein Mann spricht in ein Mikrofon während einer Veranstaltung.

The Site Selection Act envisages various committees and conferences during the course of the process, where citizens, experts and representatives of local communities can contribute to the selection process. BASE and the other statutory organisations in the search process can also offer additional dialogue and information services beyond what is laid down in the law.

Far-reaching participation opportunities

The Site Selection Act establishes far-reaching formal participation opportunities for the public. They include the sub-areas conference, the regional conferences and the Council of the Regions Conference. Commenting procedures and discussion meetings are also envisaged for each phase of the process. BASE and BGE mbH must proactively publish all the major documents associated with the process (according to Section 6 of the Site Selection Act). BASE must initiate committees and participation formats envisaged by the law. Broad participation, however, thrives on the commitment of all those involved in the process. As a result, BASE is obliged according to the provisions in the act to convene the sub-areas conference. Once it has been convened, however, the conference works independently and decides on the organisation and content of the meetings by itself.

Elected parliamentary representatives to make the decision about the site

There is no other comparable infrastructure project in Germany, where such extensive participation opportunities are provided for the public. However, the elected representatives of the German parliament will make the final decision about the location of the repository site.

Participation in the initial phase of the search for a repository site

BASE has been providing numerous opportunities for the public to gain information and participate since the start of the new search procedure in 2017 and they go beyond the statutory requirements.
Online consultation facilities, the Status Conference on Repository, workshops for youth participation, the citizens conference or digital dialogue services prior to the sub-areas conference are all part of this so-called “informal” participation.

Participation formats

Sub-areas conference

The sub-areas conference is a platform, where the federal company for radioactive waste disposal (BGE mbH) submits its interim report for discussion. It provides the public with an initial glimpse of the status of the work in searching for a repository site. The company uses the report to exclude some areas in Germany from the ongoing process because it believes that they are unsuitable and indicates which areas should remain in the process. The report does not represent any final decision. It provides transparency at an early stage in the process. This enables the public to discuss the specialist content related to the topic and therefore prepares the way for subsequent participation formats in the search for a repository site.

Sub-areas conference website

Regional conferences

Several site regions will remain at the end of the first phase. BASE will organise a regional conference at each of the site regions that are suggested for above-ground exploration. They will consist of citizens and representatives of local community regional bodies (e.g. local communities) and representatives of social groups (e.g. environmental associations). The regional conferences will accompany the site selection procedure, provide opportunities for making comments and inform the public. If the regional conferences cast doubts on the results of BGE’s exploration work, they may request a renewed check. Once a region has been eliminated from the selection procedure, the associated regional conference will be dissolved.

The Council of the Regions

Once the regional conferences have being set up, BASE will organise the Council of the Regions Conference. This will consist of representatives of the regional conferences and the local communities where storage facilities are located for high-level radioactive waste. The Council of the Regions will support the processes at the regional conferences from a national point of view and provide help in balancing out conflicting interests in the site regions.

Objections and comments

In addition to these participation formats, all those involved may lodge objections – i.e. on the suggestion for the site regions for above-ground exploration, the suggestion for the sites to be explored underground and the suggestion for the site. The objections will be handled at discussion meetings. Affected parties may have the selection procedure checked by the Federal Administrative Court at the end of the second and third phases of the search. Following intense discussions, the German parliament deliberately decided not to provide joint decision-making powers in the form of a veto right at potential site regions. The key element in the site selection procedure is that the German parliament will make the final decision about the location of the repository site.

Can the participation formats be changed in the course of the process?

The search for a repository site has been created as a “self-questioning and learning process”. Those involved in the site selection procedure – BASE, the federal company for radioactive waste disposal (BGE) mbH and the Office of the National Citizens' Oversight Committee – are required in line with Section 5 of the Site Selection Act to regularly check the existing participation formats and continue to develop and adapt them, if necessary.

Support with scientific expertise

The necessary financial support will be made available to the public for the process from the end of phase one so that discussions can take place independently and scientifically. This specifically means that if the implementer for the search for a repository site, BGE mbH, suggests site regions for above-ground exploration, the regional conferences will have a business office and their own budget to commission scientific expertise.